Abstract
This article contributes to the debate of Higher Education in the context of emergencies from an Open Science and Open Education perspective. It presents the Certificate of Open Studies (COS), a new format offered in a distance modality by the University of Geneva. The contribution specifically discusses how the COS Education in Emergencies (EiE) is designed in a participatory manner with academics, field partners and decision makers in Niger and in Switzerland. Drawing on Freire’s empowerment through education approach, the design leverages ritual pedagogies and orality as foundational principles. Embedded in a European university degree framework, it breaks with the positivist content provision of Higher Education in Emergencies (HEiE). Departing from the single mechanistic paradigm prevailing in the mainstream, the design incorporates a systemic paradigm aligned with conceptualisations of sustainability. In the COS EiE, HEiE is considered an opportunity to empower participants through reconnection with their language and cultural heritage to be able to imagine a prospective future for themselves and their communities. The first edition of the training programme ran from November 2023 to June 2024. This paper presents some outputs of the participants’ achievements and also their assessment of the programme.